The country that was a spy for the former head of German intelligence has been discovered

Berlin (Caasimada Online) – New details are emerging about a long-standing relationship between former head of the German foreign intelligence agency, August Hanning, and a senior official who previously served in the Chinese military, as Hanning is currently in prison facing charges related to espionage and the disclosure of state secrets.

The German newspaper Der Spiegel reported on Friday that Hanning, who led the BND intelligence agency from 1998 to 2005, had a close relationship with Wang Jianzheng, a senior general in the Chinese military, who also had extensive knowledge of German affairs.

According to the newspaper, Hanning made several trips to China after retiring from his position, where he maintained a relationship with Wang, who had previously worked at the Chinese embassy in East Germany during the time the country was under a communist regime.

Wang was also described as an expert on German affairs, and he translated several books from German into Chinese.

The revelation of this relationship comes days after German security forces arrested Hanning, 80, on Tuesday, accusing him of obtaining secret documents belonging to the government and using some of that information for activities related to foreign intelligence.

However, German prosecutors have not yet disclosed the countries or intelligence agencies suspected of having received that information, and there is no officially presented evidence indicating that the secrets Hanning is accused of passing on were sent to China.

Prosecutors are accusing Hanning of obtaining classified information from his former office head, whose name is said to be Manfred D., who continued to work for the BND agency after Hanning stepped down.

As the prosecutors stated, the two men agreed in 2010 that Manfred would regularly pass intelligence information to Hanning, in exchange for payments.

It is suspected that nearly 2,000 documents were passed to Hanning over a period of 12 years, many of which contained classified information intended for internal use by the BND agency and security reports prepared for government leaders.

The prosecutors also mentioned that Hanning exploited that information for private jobs related to security consulting, which he started after leaving the intelligence agency.

Hanning's lawyer, Leon Kruse, denied that his client had passed classified information to anyone who could harm Germany's interests, insisting that the allegations are baseless and that the charges were filed incorrectly.

This case has raised significant concerns among German security agencies and those of allied countries, who want to know if the classified information they used to share has reached foreign hands.

The German government has stated that it is taking the allegations seriously and is supporting the ongoing investigation, as this case has revived questions about how to protect intelligence information when senior officials retire from their positions.

The crisis is also coming at a time when the German government is implementing a plan to expand the powers of the country's intelligence agencies, in order to counter the increasing security threats.

The new scandal has heightened concerns about the protection of national data and the trust that allied countries' intelligence agencies have in German intelligence.